poison doctor

Eight years ago.

It is almost early spring, and the winter cold has not yet faded.

Qingxu Temple is located on the upper peak of Lingshan Mountain, where the snow melts and new snow comes.Although it is a winter scene, the winter jasmine flowers on the branches outside have already sprouted new buds.

"A bunch of trash! You can't even look after a child, why don't you go find it? If you can't find it, we have to move our heads!"

Eunuch Liang, the deputy chief executive, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, seeing that the few black strands on his head were about to turn white.A group of eunuchs and guards rushed in and out in the Qingxu Temple, all of them were anxious.

The sixth prince of the current dynasty disappeared from the bedroom without a trace under the eyes of dozens of eunuchs, guards and Taoist priests.He was so sick the night before that he was barely breathing, but he suddenly disappeared this morning.

It has been more than a month since he was invited to Qingxu Temple in Lingshan to pray for blessings and recuperate. Chonglin's condition became more and more serious, and he almost died.The imperial physicians Lu Guan and Huo Jing who went with them were at a loss. Eunuch Liang begged the sixth prince to return to Beijing for medical treatment many times, but he refused because he was unwell and traveled a long distance.

A large number of medicinal materials and nourishing holy products were transported from the palace to Qingxu Temple, and the prescriptions were changed one by one, but there was no improvement, and now even the people are gone. Could it be that the Taoist king showed his holiness and reincarnated this white jade wishful to the world? Has the little prince welcomed back to heaven?

"Have you lost sight of him?" A boy with a wooden box on his back broke into the door frowning. His hair was messy and he was panting heavily. In a hurry.

As soon as he reached the middle of the mountain, he heard the Taoist who went down the mountain to buy things say that the prince was gone, so Du Heng ran up to the Taoist temple on the top in three steps at a time.

"Where's the wild child, you can also let me interrupt the royal affairs?" Eunuch Liang was furious, and just about to explode, when he took a closer look, there was no sign of the arrogant boy in front of him?

Lingshan Mountain is steep and steep, and the sixth prince is weak, so it should be impossible to walk on the back mountain without stone steps, so the guards, eunuchs, and maidservants searched in the temple and the front mountain, but they found nothing all day long.

At dusk, the setting sun is like blood, and the evening wind is wrapped in snowflakes and falls all over the mountains.

Because of the biting cold, Chonglin woke up in a narrow hole surrounded by old trees and rocks.Rubbing his eyes, his body was already frozen, his hands were covered with blood, and his clothes were no longer glamorous.He escaped the dozing guards and eunuchs from the house in the middle of the night and fled all the way to the back mountain. He used his hands and feet to walk and climb the mountain, almost exhausting all his strength.

I originally thought that instead of daily acupuncture, moxibustion and bitter medicine, dying of illness on the bedside in muddy water, and burying the bones in the imperial mausoleum of the capital, and dying in that smoky place, it would be better to find a cliff and close your eyes and jump, and you will be clean forever. .But at this moment, he was so cold and hungry that he couldn't help but want to cry.No matter how much he pretended to be strong, he was just a child under the age of 14 at this time.

I sat there with my knees hugged for an unknown amount of time, and in a blink of an eye, the sun was almost gone, and the surrounding area became dark.The criss-crossing branches of the trees are like ghosts with claws and claws in the dusk. The calls of birds and animals come from time to time, accompanied by the beating heartbeat in the chest and the uncontrollable coughing and panting, which sounds eerie.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound of stepping on the snow not far away, getting closer and closer.

Beast... Chong Lin shrank into a ball in fright.

It's scary, help, someone help me——

"You're here. It's cold, come here."

The familiar gentle voice, the open arms without hesitation, and the dazzling smile that ignites the snow.It was clearly a cat-like face made of mud, but it looked so eye-catching at this moment.There was a layer of white snow on the top of the boy's head and forehead, obviously he had been looking for him in the mountains for a long time.

"Too tired to move?" Seeing that Chonglin didn't move, Du Heng climbed up the tree roots with difficulty, hugged Chonglin tightly, and fell down beside him. "I'm feeling it, how did you lose so much weight and have severe asthma again?"

"...Du Heng?" After a long while, Chonglin suppressed his panting and squeezed out the name from his throat.

"En." Du Heng held his face and smiled brightly. "I'm here to find you, it's a bit late, you have suffered."

"Du Heng...Du Heng, Du Heng!" Chong Lin burst into tears, his face was flushed red, he grabbed his front and refused to let go.

Du Heng rolled up his sleeves to help him wipe away his tears, patted his back, and smiled helplessly. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's okay, it's okay."

When night completely covered Lingshan, Du Heng staggered back to Qingxu Temple with Chonglin on his back.Eunuch Liang and the palace people wept with joy when they saw it, and kowtowed to the Taoist priest for his protection.It's just that the little prince, who was at ease, slept deeply, and he couldn't move his hands around Du Heng's neck, which really troubled everyone's brains.

But after finally getting Chong Linan back to his room, Du Heng's news surprised everyone again.

"Master, the attending physician?! Just you?" Eunuch Liang thought he was used to seeing strange things in the palace at this age, so he still opened his eyes wide, wanting to make a hole in the young man in front of him.

Du Heng's famous name, Eunuch Liang, has naturally heard of it. There may be no two scholars in the Golden Palace Ci, let alone a young man and a rare talent in a hundred years.But this drama of the young man getting the first place, resigning from the champion and changing the year, and being named the prince as the attending physician... so what is it?

"The letter of appointment written by Liu Hong, the chief minister of the imperial hospital, is there any falsehood?" Du Heng raised his eyebrows and glanced at everyone in the hospital. "It's enough to leave me alone here, you all go back to the capital."

"What?!" Eunuch Liang was furious when he heard the words. "The old slave was appointed by the Holy Majesty to serve His Highness the Sixth Highness. The status of the prince is so noble, how can he be successful without anyone around him?"

The faces of the two imperial physicians Lu Guan and Huo Jing were even more blue and purple, extremely ugly.

"You can tell the emperor what I mean. There are so many noisy people, the food is too delicate, and the service is too thoughtful. How can people be cured if they are disabled?" Du Heng did not back down, and after saying this, he took the medicine The box went to the stove to boil medicine.

It was rare to have a good night's sleep, and Chonglin was not awakened by the aroma of the food until noon, and struggled to open his eyes, facing a pair of smart phoenix eyes that were close at hand.

"what!"

"Are you awake? You can really sleep." The owner of the phoenix eyes showed joy when he saw him wake up. "Drink some water first, then eat some porridge and vegetables, it's good medicine."

Only then did Chonglin wake up.Last night, he was frightened and forgetful for a moment, and lost his composure in front of Du Heng.Now that he was too ashamed and regretful, his heart became more and more resentful, he bit his lower lip and said coldly: "Get out."

Astonishment flashed across Du Heng's eyes, then he looked away and smiled sadly.

"Are you laughing at me?" Chonglin was irritated by this smile, and without knowing where the strength came from, he raised his hand and slapped Du Heng's left cheek with a big red mark. "Bastard, liar! Just laugh at me, you...cough cough!"

Under Chonglin's rage, he forgot his usual calmness to the horizon.The weak lungs couldn't bear it, and immediately coughed violently, the blood on his face faded.

"Chonglin, Chonglin," Du Heng hurriedly helped him to comfort his back, "how is it, is it better?"

"Don't touch me!" Chong Lin opened his hand, although he wanted to maintain a haughty posture, his lungs felt as if they were on fire, and his tears couldn't stop streaming down.

Seeing that he kept struggling, and the more he struggled, the more he coughed, Du Heng simply hugged him tightly, wrapping him tightly around his chest.Chong Lin couldn't move, tired, leaned on Du Heng's shoulder for a long time, and finally calmed down.

"……open."

This time Du Heng complied obediently.

"You father and son think that you poisoned me in the palace, so you still want to catch up with Lingshan?" Chonglin's voice was hoarse and weeping, and he lost all the momentum just now.

"I didn't deliberately hide my identity from you." Du Heng stared at Chonglin, and said firmly: "I don't believe that father will poison you, it must be because the medicine is wrong or there are other hidden reasons."

Hearing this, Chonglin burst into anger. "You mean I lied and planted? Du Heng, I mistrusted you! Cough...cough cough..."

In this anger, he was about to cough and wheeze again, but suddenly something sweet and icy was stuffed into his mouth, and he subconsciously bit it down—it was Sydney.The clear pear juice relieved the dryness of the throat and quenched Chonglin's anger.

Suddenly I remembered that when we first met, he was feeding pears like this.Although they are strangers who have never met before, they smile at each other, and feel speculative and joyful inexplicably.

He felt like a fool, no matter how long it took, he would lose his composure in front of Du Heng.

While he was absent-minded, Du Heng stuffed another pear into his mouth.

"I am not the champion."

"Um……"

"Didn't it be agreed, I'll be your imperial physician." He approached Chonglin and whispered.

Chonglin's eyes widened in shock, his mouth opened wide, he stuttered, his voice changed. "Cheat, lie, right?!"

Du Heng was amused by his exaggerated reaction, and happily kissed his forehead with a very natural and generous attitude.

On the contrary, the sixth prince blushed with shame, and hurriedly pushed him away. "You, what are you doing? How decent are big men even kissing each other!"

"You are very energetic when you are angry." Du Heng raised his eyebrows. "Don't worry, Miracle Doctor Du's gold-lettered signboard can cure all diseases and rejuvenate his hands."

"...What nonsense, you quack doctor. The Taoists are pure and full of lies." Chong Lin reprimanded lightly, but his lips couldn't stop smiling.

How long has it been since you laughed?A whole year of separation, love and hatred, the time that I thought would never come back, seems to have never disappeared.

The two of them romped unrestrainedly, Eunuch Liang and several maids entered the house with food and toilet utensils, and were shocked into clay sculptures by the scene.

Eunuch Liang, who had received the greatest stimulus in his life, tried hard to persuade the sixth prince not to do so, packed his bags and returned to the capital in a rage.The rest of the guards and palace servants were also chased away by Du Heng, leaving only a little eunuch who was running errands waiting for orders.

After careful consideration, he changed to a new prescription, took medicine for recuperation, and also changed to light and warm meals.But after more than ten days, even though Chonglin's cold syndrome subsided, his health still hasn't recovered.Du Heng took his pulse every morning and evening, and then adjusted his diet and dosage as appropriate.

"How? Great Doctor Du?" Chong Lin leaned on the bedside, curled up his knees and put the books on the stand, and joked while flipping through the books: "How long will I live? Can I live another six years?"

Du Heng didn't smile, with a bit of bitterness on his face, he gently held Chonglin's left wrist.

"Why are you so sad? Your medicine is not a magical elixir. It would be terrible if I would be alive and kicking immediately." Chong Lin didn't withdraw his hand, he cheered up and comforted Du Heng.

"That's right, I was too impatient."

Du Heng frowned a bit naively, Chonglin thought it was funny, and joked: "The genius doctor also wants to eat hot tofu."

One sentence made Du Heng dumbfounded, "Who taught you this messy proverb..."

Just blurted out the words, then suddenly stopped.Needless to say, it must have been written in the bunch of market novels I brought over, and it really is the most reasonable thing in the world to be self-confident.

"Really, what kind of book are you reading?" Du Heng complained.

Chonglin shook his head, closed the book and put it aside.This book was not brought by Du Heng, but "Han Wu Stories", he was just reading about the birth of Emperor Wu of Han——

Xianggong Yao Weng, who is good at Xiangren, has been lost for thousands of years. After seeing it, he sighed and said, "You are also a noble man in the world. You should be born the Son of Heaven." Tian's family returned home after he was born, and he was pregnant in the womb.Emperor Jing also dreamed that Gaozu would appear holy.The next day, auspiciousness descended from the sky, and a boy was born, who was Emperor Wu.Small but smart, quite witty.

He is also the son of Royal Auspiciousness, with high knowledge and talent, so he deserves to enjoy the blessings, but his fate is very different from that of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.On weekdays, he would definitely be filled with hatred and sentimentality, but today he can laugh it off.

Chonglin thought for a while, looked at Du Heng and said flatteringly, "After drinking the medicine, let's go for a stroll in Guanli. I haven't played it yet these days."

"Well, it's good to get some air."

In the afternoon, the two walked along the path in the backyard.At this time, the inner courtyard was silent, and the Taoist priests all went to the Taoist hall in the front courtyard.

The Qingxu Temple is built on the top of the peak, and the place is not too small.The soil and stone road in Guannei was slightly slippery, and Chong Lin didn't have the strength to walk freely, so he wrapped himself in a thick robe and leaned on Du Heng's back, looking left and right, excited uncontrollably.The last time he sneaked out of the view through the back door in the middle of the night, he did not expect such a beautiful scenery along the way.

There are more than ten plum trees planted among the houses with blue tiles and gray bricks. It is the beginning of spring at this time, and the branches are full of white flowers, as if the trees are covered with silver snow. Walking among them, the faint fragrance makes people intoxicated.

The fresh and cold wind blew across the face, and the sound of Hong Zhong from a distance echoed in the clear air.

After walking for a long time, I came to the outer courtyard hall. The first one I went to was the Siyu Hall, which enshrined the four gods who assisted Sanqing, also known as Sifu.

Looking at the statue of the Antarctic Immortal Emperor sitting on a high platform, Chonglin smiled wryly and thought: As a god, he is proud of his longevity, and a thousand years is like a passing cloud, which is really worthy of this name.

Perhaps the weather is still cold, and there are not many pilgrims who come to worship. The aroma of sandalwood wafts out, which is neither strong nor weak, elegant and very pleasant.Bypassing the Jing Pavilion, there is a large hall not far in front.

"There is the Qizhen Hall, which is dedicated to the seven patriarchs of Beiquanzhen, Danyangzi, Changchunzi and so on." Du Heng stopped to catch his breath, and then he took Chonglin on his back again before taking another step.

It was only then that Chonglin noticed that Du Heng's neck was covered with sweat, and the loose strands of hair stuck to his cheeks and neck.Although he is light, Du Heng is not strong, and it is obvious that he is a little weak after carrying it for a long time.

"Are you going to take a break?" Chonglin asked.

Du Heng hesitated, and finally nodded.

The resting place he was looking for stood a towering ancient tree. It took four or five people to embrace it. The roots were intertwined, tall and straight.The most eye-catching thing is that the crown of the tree is covered with long or short red ribbons from the short branches to the high branches at the top. It seems that there are words written on them, but they are indistinct.

After placing Chong Lin on the stone bench beside him, Du Heng also sat down next to him, grabbed his sleeves and wiped his sweat.

"What's going on with this tree...?" Chong Lin looked up at the fiery tree and red flowers in amazement.

"Wishing spirit tree. People believe that the thousand-year-old tree has spirits. As long as you write your wish on a red silk belt and tie it to the branch, you can reach heaven. Ah, the higher the tie, the better."

"Then...have all the wishes of those who wear red belts come true?" Chong Lin turned to Du Heng.

Du Heng bit his lower lip, looked directly at him and said, "Everything depends on man's efforts, how can it be determined by heaven. Instead of asking the gods in the nine heavens, you just trust me."

"It's amazing self-confidence." Chonglin couldn't help chuckling.

Although Du Heng seems gentle, he is always willful and reckless, and he is not afraid of the sky and the earth.

"At that time, thanks to the fact that you dared to say in front of civil and military officials that you don't want to be the number one scholar, if the royal father beat you to death in a fit of anger, he would be a ghost."

Hearing this, Du Heng's smile was a bit sly. "You will always save me, what are you afraid of?"

Chonglin opened his mouth to refute, but the facts were true, so he could only eat Coptis chinensis as a dumb man, and he was proud of it.

Even though it was afternoon, the weather was cool, sitting for a long time would still be cold, and the cold air was inhaled into the lungs, Chonglin couldn't help coughing, and wrapped his cotton robe tightly.

"Go back, let's go to the front halls to play when the weather is warmer." Du Heng squatted down in front of the stone bench, Chonglin grabbed his neck and let him carry himself back.

After walking not far, Chonglin felt a little tired, and pressed his forehead against the back of Du Heng's neck.

"Go to sleep when you're tired."

"Well, go to the plum tree and wake me up, I want to break branches and flowers and put them in the house..." Chonglin gradually lost his voice, and his soft and long breath blew on the side of Du Heng's neck, itching and warm.

In the blink of an eye for half a year, the time sequence has entered autumn.Chong Lin's health was good and bad, although he was always energetic, his five internal organs were getting exhausted day by day, Du Heng's methods were exhausted, and the medicine was still difficult to heal.His pulse condition is mainly cold and empty, but sometimes it is hot and frequent, which is extremely rare.If you are really poisoned, you don't know the toxicity, let alone talk about detoxification.

Chonglin never asked about medical treatment. He just pestered Du Heng to read books and play chess with him every day. When the weather was good, he always went out to play for a while.

"Sleeping is a waste of time." Chong Lin often kept saying this, not taking a good rest.It wasn't until Du Heng, who was sleeping in the side room, moved in to live with him, that he was willing to sleep obediently by snuggling up to him.

"Have all the chrysanthemums bloomed on the mountain?" Chong Lin asked suddenly after swallowing the last spoonful of soup.

Du Heng fed him a sweet date, and said with a smile, "It's just autumn, how can it be so fast."

Hearing this, Chonglin also laughed, "There are so many Taoist temples in the world, do you know why I come to the Qingxu Temple to pray for blessings and recuperate?"

Without waiting for Du Heng to guess, he solved the mystery himself.

"The book says that Lingshan has beautiful scenery in four seasons. In winter and spring, you can enjoy silver snow and white plum blossoms. In summer, you can see waterfalls and clear streams. In autumn, yellow daisies bloom all over the mountains and plains. It is as beautiful as a dream. I have seen plum snow and waterfalls. In the end, I also I want to see chrysanthemums."

Du Heng felt that his heart was being tightened so hard that he couldn't breathe.The more Chonglin showed a reassuring smile, the more he felt a tearing pain.

"...Not only this year, but next year and the year after, every year we come to Lingshan to appreciate chrysanthemums. Don't you still want to visit the county town under the mountain? The sky is big and the earth is big, and there are many interesting places to go."

Nodding his head, Chonglin held Du Heng's hand and smiled with downcast eyes. "We're never going back to the palace again, okay?"

"……it is good."

"Have you ever had a drink?"

Still immersed in melancholy, Du Heng was taken aback by this question. "Wine? No."

"Me neither." Chonglin said happily, "I've always wanted to drink it once, let's drink it."

"You——" Du Heng just wanted to reprimand him for drinking with this body, but he couldn't say it for some reason, and finally just nodded.

The eunuchs who accompanied him went to the foot of the mountain to buy a small pot of Jiu Niu Chun. According to market rules, a plate of peanuts and a plate of sauced beef were placed on the table as a side dish.The two teenagers sat opposite each other, staring at the wine jar on the table, both couldn't help being excited and nervous.

"It's a strong smell before it's opened." Chong Lin leaned closer to smell it, and Du Heng also leaned closer.The two put their heads on top of each other, and after looking at it for a long time, they didn't know what to do with the mud seal on the mouth of the altar.

Du Heng gritted his teeth and slapped it down, but with too much force, the mud seal was opened, but the soil on the table was broken, and the sauced beef and peanuts were all ruined.Chong Lin laughed so hard that he was useless.

The aroma of the wine after opening is so strong that just smelling it is enough to intoxicate you.The two poured a small cup each, both frowning and hesitating.

Chonglin mustered up his courage to take a sip first, and then said with surprise on his face: "It's refreshing and refreshing, it's really the best wine."

Seeing him like this, Du Heng took a big sip boldly, and sprayed it out before he could swallow it, coughing non-stop.His throat seemed to be burnt out, his mouth and nose felt bitter and hot, and he was so numb that he couldn't even speak a word.

"Pfft...haha, ahahahaha. Big fool, ahaha..." Chong Lin held his stomach and laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten his back, as if he had been poked into the laughing point, and couldn't stop until he coughed badly. stop.

"You're kidding me." Realizing that he had been cheated, Du Heng frowned, pinched Chonglin's nose and stuffed the wine glass to his mouth. "It's not fair, you have to drink and watch."

Looking at Du Heng's face, Chonglin cautiously stretched out the tip of his tongue and licked it, and immediately spit it out, and said with a bitter face: "I still love wine as a song, what is life like? It sounds very chic, but it turns out that wine is so bad ah."

"That's right." Du Heng also smiled happily at this moment.Seeing that it was getting dark, he moved the lamp to the middle of the table.

The candlelight reflected Chonglin's soft and long eyelashes, casting a small shadow on his face, which was extremely beautiful.

The evening wind gradually picked up and blew into the house, refreshing the coolness straight into the heart and spleen.

"Drinking some wine makes me dizzy. I feel like I can have a good dream even if I close my eyes." Chong Lin lowered his eyes, still smiling, but looked a bit lonely.

"Du Heng, from now on...in your life, will you think of today every time you drink? You...will you remember me?"

Du Heng stared at him blankly, thinking about what to say, what to say, his face suddenly felt a little cold, and when he touched it, he found two lines of tears.

But when Huang Rui and daisies bloomed all over Lingshan, after a rainy autumn night, Du Heng left without saying goodbye.

The place where they met again was the capital city thousands of miles away, the imperial palace.